Jeremiah 5
5
Judah’s Complete Rejection of the LORD
1Walk around the streets of Jerusalem.
Look around, and think about these things.
Search the city squares.
See if you can find anyone
who does what is right and seeks the truth.
Then I will forgive Jerusalem.
2People say, “As the Lord lives …”
Yet, they lie when they take this oath.
3 Lord, your eyes look for the truth.
You strike these people, but they don’t feel it.
You crush them, but they refuse to be corrected.
They are more stubborn than rocks.
They refuse to turn back.
4I thought, “These are poor, foolish people.
They don’t know the way of the Lord
and the justice that God demands.
5Let me go to important people and speak to them.
They know the way of the Lord
and the justice that God demands.”
But they, too, had broken off their yokes #5:5 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.
and torn off their chains.
6That is why a lion from the forest will attack them.
A wolf from the wilderness will destroy them.
A leopard will lie in ambush outside their cities.
All who leave the cities will be torn to pieces,
because they rebel so often
and they become more and more unfaithful.
7“Why should I forgive you?
Your children abandoned me.
They took godless oaths.
They committed adultery, even though I satisfied their needs.
They traveled in crowds to the houses of prostitutes.
8They are like well-fed stallions that are wild with desire.
They neigh for their neighbors’ wives.
9I will punish them for these things,” declares the Lord.
“I will punish this nation.
10“Go among Jerusalem’s rows of grapevines and destroy them,
but don’t destroy all of them.
Cut off the branches because they don’t belong to the Lord.
11The nations of Israel and Judah are unfaithful to me,”
declares the Lord.
12They lie about the Lord and say,
“He doesn’t exist!
Nothing bad will happen to us.
We won’t experience war or famine.
13The prophets are nothing but windbags.
The Lord hasn’t spoken through them,
so let what they say happen to them.”
14This is what the Lord God of Armies says:
Because you’ve talked like this,
I’m going to put my words in your mouth like a fire.
These people will be like wood.
My words will burn them up.
15Nation of Israel, I’m going to bring a nation from far away
to attack you, declares the Lord.
It is a nation that has lasted a long time.
It is an ancient nation.
You don’t know the language of this nation.
You can’t understand what its people say.
16Their arrow quivers are like open graves.
They are all mighty warriors.
17They will devour your harvest and your food.
They will devour your sons and your daughters.
They will devour your flocks and your cattle.
They will devour your grapevines and your fig trees.
With their swords they will destroy
the fortified cities you trust.
18Yet, even in those days, declares the Lord,
I won’t destroy all of you.
19They will ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?” Answer them, “You have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land. So you will serve foreigners in a land that isn’t yours.”
20“Tell this to the descendants of Jacob, and make this heard in Judah:
21Hear this, you stupid and senseless people!
You have eyes, but you cannot see.
You have ears, but you cannot hear.
22Don’t you fear me?” asks the Lord.
“Don’t you tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
a permanent barrier that it cannot cross.
Although the waves toss continuously, they can’t break through.
Although they roar, they can’t cross it.
23But these people are stubborn and rebellious.
They have turned aside and wandered away from me.
24They don’t say to themselves,
‘We should fear the Lord our God.
He sends rain at the right time,
the autumn rain and the spring rain.
He makes sure that we have harvest seasons.’
25Your wickedness has turned these things away.
Your sins have kept good things away from you.
26“Wicked people are found among my people.
They lie in ambush like bird catchers.
They set traps and catch people.
27Like cages filled with birds, their houses are filled with deceit.
That is why they become powerful and rich.
28They grow big and fat.
Their evil deeds have no limits.
They have no respect for the rights of others.
They have no respect for the rights of orphans.
But they still prosper.
They don’t defend the rights of the poor.
29I will punish them for these things,” declares the Lord.
“I will punish this nation.
30“Something horrible and disgusting is happening in the land:
31Prophets prophesy lies.
Priests rule under the prophets’ directions,
and my people love this.
But what will you do in the end?”
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Jeremiah 5: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 5
5
The Justice of God’s Judgment
1“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem;
See now and know;
And seek in her open places
#Ezek. 22:30If you can find a man,
#Gen. 18:23–32If there is anyone who executes judgment,
Who seeks the truth,
#Gen. 18:26And I will pardon her.
2#Is. 48:1; Titus 1:16Though they say, ‘As #Jer. 4:2the Lord lives,’
Surely they #Jer. 7:9swear falsely.”
3O Lord, are not #2 Kin. 25:1; (2 Chr. 16:9; Jer. 16:17)Your eyes on the truth?
You have #Is. 1:5; 9:13; Jer. 2:30stricken them,
But they have not grieved;
You have consumed them,
But #Is. 9:13; Jer. 7:28; Zeph. 3:2they have refused to receive correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to return.
4Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor.
They are foolish;
For #Is. 27:11; Jer. 8:7; Hos. 4:6they do not know the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.
5I will go to the great men and speak to them,
For #Mic. 3:1they have known the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.”
But these have altogether #Ex. 32:25; Ps. 2:3; Jer. 2:20broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
6Therefore #Jer. 4:7a lion from the forest shall slay them,
#Ps. 104:20; Ezek. 22:27; Hab. 1:8; Zeph. 3:3A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;
#Hos. 13:7A leopard will watch over their cities.
Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many;
Their backslidings have increased.
7“How shall I pardon you for this?
Your children have forsaken Me
And #Josh. 23:7; Jer. 12:16; Zeph. 1:5sworn by those #Deut. 32:21; Jer. 2:11; Gal. 4:8that are not gods.
#Deut. 32:15When I had fed them to the full,
Then they committed adultery
And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
8#Jer. 13:27; 29:23; Ezek. 22:11They were like well-fed lusty stallions;
Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.
9Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“And shall I not #Jer. 9:9avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
10“Go up on her walls and destroy,
But do not make a #Jer. 4:27complete end.
Take away her branches,
For they are not the Lord’s.
11For #Jer. 3:6, 7, 20the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the Lord.
12#2 Chr. 36:16; Jer. 4:10They have lied about the Lord,
And said, #Is. 28:15; 47:8; Jer. 23:17“It is not He.
#Jer. 14:13Neither will evil come upon us,
Nor shall we see sword or famine.
13And the prophets become wind,
For the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them.”
14Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts:
“Because you speak this word,
#Is. 24:6; Jer. 1:9; 23:29; Hos. 6:5; Zech. 1:6Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire,
And this people wood,
And it shall devour them.
15Behold, I will bring a #Deut. 28:49; Is. 5:26; Jer. 1:15; 6:22nation against you #Is. 39:3; Jer. 4:16from afar,
O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
“It is a mighty nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16Their quiver is like an open tomb;
They are all mighty men.
17And they shall eat up your #Lev. 26:16; Deut. 28:31, 33; Jer. 8:16; 50:7, 17harvest and your bread,
Which your sons and daughters should eat.
They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
They shall destroy your fortified cities,
In which you trust, with the sword.
18“Nevertheless in those days,” says the Lord, “I #Jer. 30:11; Amos 9:8will not make a complete end of you. 19And it will be when you say, #Deut. 29:24–29; 1 Kin. 9:8, 9; Jer. 13:22; 16:10–13‘Why does the Lord our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have #Jer. 1:16; 2:13forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so #Deut. 28:48; Jer. 16:13you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’
20“Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21‘Hear this now, O #Is. 6:9; Jer. 6:10; Ezek. 12:2; Matt. 13:14; John 12:40; Acts 28:26; Rom. 11:8foolish people,
Without understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:
22#Deut. 28:58; Ps. 119:120; Jer. 2:19; 10:7; (Rev. 15:4)Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the #Job 26:10bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro,
Yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
23But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;
They have revolted and departed.
24They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
#Ps. 147:8; Jer. 14:22; (Matt. 5:45); Acts 14:17Who gives rain, both the #Deut. 11:14; Joel 2:23; James 5:7former and the latter, in its season.
#(Gen. 8:22)He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25#Jer. 3:3Your iniquities have turned these things away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They #Ps. 10:9; Prov. 1:11; Jer. 18:22; Hab. 1:15lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
27As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
28They have grown #Deut. 32:15fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead #Is. 1:23; Jer. 7:6; 22:3; Zech. 7:10the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
#Job 12:6; Ps. 73:12Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
29#Jer. 5:9; Mal. 3:5Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’
30“An astonishing and #Jer. 23:14; Hos. 6:10; 2 Tim. 4:3horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
31The prophets prophesy #Jer. 14:14; Ezek. 13:6falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people #Mic. 2:11love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.